


An Interlude: Jump 43

by Like_a_Hurricane



Series: Dare to Believe in Us [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Peppered Frostiron - Freeform, froz3npizza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-25 19:35:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3822283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Like_a_Hurricane/pseuds/Like_a_Hurricane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pepper learned about Jotunn physiology a bit differently in this jump.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Interlude: Jump 43

Pepper from Jump #43 seemed to be more amused with Traveler-Loki than the others they watched before her. Some versions of them did have little aspects more intense than the versions of the triad that the Traveler’s last-jump truly felt, themselves, let alone performed with instinctive regularity.

 

And yet, Pepper she still was, from every freckle to the crisp, dryly witty appeal of her words. “As far as Traveler-boy here is concerned, we’re unique mostly for how I first realized my handsome new personal assistant was actually a Jotunn god of lies, hidden under a veneer of polite respect, and ridiculous floppy ginger hair.”

 

Off-camera, there was some resentful noises.

 

“Ignore him. He’s always fretting over these recordings, at times. As though any of us could be more embarrassed or offended than fascinated,” Pepper cooed at him. She them smiled a bit more pointedly at him in the wake of the following awkward pause. “Our universe isn’t actually much of an anomaly. We’re just the first repetition in a while, for him, but nor the first altogether by about a dozen.”

 

She sat up further, and leaned forward a little. “I was doing well, not being flustered by a tall, eloquent, perceptive and achingly handsome new personal assistant…” Visibly hesitating, she sighed. “No, I wasn’t. It was all lies. I was more disarmed and distracted by him than Tony ever was even by Natasha. He was sharp and curt, when needed, but just as genteel and manipulatively pleasant as appropriate in certain sorts of negotiations. He became my grand vizier within a month.”

 

“And then there was Hydra. And a kidnapping attempt upon me, and all. I’d had Extremis removed, and Loki knew it. He… lost control when bullets ricocheted off of nearby military-grade shielded cargo, on the helicarrier. In the middle of all of S.H.I.E.L.D. on high-alert, all of his guises dropped, all at once, because he’d been too low on magic from… other ridiculous protective actions several days before that. And because he had nothing else, save ice powers that I uh… I honestly think he still loathed them until right about then, when he used them for me. He uhm.” She looked still disbelieving, and a little helplessly loving. “He stopped bullets with walls of ice for me, and I was too much in shock to fully register more (at that time) than the idea that he might not be human, which I was fine with.”

 

“He kept refusing to look at me, though, even as he helped me arrange to keep the helicarrier in the air despite half of the Avengers were compromised by a series of Hydra sabotages timed to create sufficient distraction to allow for the helicarrier to be boarded. Even though Maria sort of showed up halfway through and gave away some things Sif and Thor had told her about Jotunnheim.”

 

Pepper from jump #43 huffed an exasperated breath out of one side of her mouth. “I was busy trying to rescue Tony with my surprisingly-pretty-in-blue personal assistant, who had turned out to be a trickster god in disguise, or I’d have had more clarity of mind to say some… choice things, about one or two things she said, let’s say.”

 

Clearing her throat, she moved on, “In the end, he was still blue, because of the fighting and insisting on sort of shielding me a lot. He mentioned knowing I no longer had Extremis in my system, and then I snapped at him a bit more suspiciously and he just… He went completely still. I’ve seen… I’ve seen Tony when he shuts down, after someone reminds him too-acutely of certain things about Obie and Howard (or worse: both) where it’s like he’s braced for a physical blow, but determined not to flinch so hard that he appears almost entirely numb.” She bit her lip for a moment, then shook her head. “Loki was like that, but worse, I could feel the air just get colder, then try to heat up too fast. I reacted on instinct a bit, and just sort of strode around him (his back was turned) and stood close enough he almost flinched a little, but hesitated. And I…”

 

She looked down for a moment, marginally embarrassed, a fond and private smile on her lips, which lingered once she lifted her gaze again. “I… took both hands and gently as I could, traced every line on his face. He stood so still, but just radiated tension, and he looked terrified. I didn’t know until later, how afraid he was of causing me frostbite, but Tony had a good explanation for why that wouldn’t make much biological sense for Jotunns, if they were also sexually compatible with Aesir as history long showed to be more than possible, but also frequent.”

 

She shook her head again. “I never thought of it happening any other way. Once I had mapped every line, I leaned in and kissed him, and told him Tony had a crush on him he was having trouble fessing up to, and that I’d been waiting for a chance to suggest inviting him into our bed for awhile. And that I uh, hadn’t changed my mind. And I didn’t think Tony would, either, after… after I explained. Which I planned to do after rescuing his ass as well as Natasha’s and Clint’s, at the time.”

 

Her smile became wider and showed more of her teeth very fiercely. “We won. And I did explain, while Loki ‘slept’ on a nearby free bed in the medical wing of Avengers tower, as though I could possibly be unaware he was listening in.” She snorted a little, and rolled her eyes. “I’ll credit him: he learns very quickly, there.” The illusion had the audacity to wink at them. “Once Tony had heard the whole story, he admitted to some mildly illicit dealings with Loki of recent, and having suspicions about my ‘assistant’ while also trying not to lick him, to his own consternation.”

 

With a soft chuckle, she shurgged. “After that, we learned a lot of intriguing lessons concerning temperature-play, all of which may, or may not, have had a significant influence over Tony and I later implementing Extremis on ourselves again, when the war-drums got loud enough.” She dragged her teeth more slowly across her lower lip in reminiscence, at that. “Sex with those temperature contrasts? Highly, highly recommended.”

 

**After the Illusion Ended:**

 

“… So, Pep-”

 

“Stabilize it for me, first, before you self-apply.”

 

“But-”

 

“You can be the mortal in the middle. Think on that.”

 

Tony did. A long pause followed.

 

Pepper grinned. “Precisely.”


End file.
